Texas Republicans to Vote on Women Getting Ultrasound View Before Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 7, 2009
Austin, TX (LifeNews.com) — Texas Republicans will have an opportunity to vote next year on whether they believe state legislators should pursue key pro-life legislation. They will determine if they think women considering an abortion should first be allowed a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child.
When used in pregnancy centers, ultrasounds have helped more than 80 percent of women decide against an abortion and to keep their baby.
On Saturday, the Texas State Republican Executive Committee, the governing board of the Republican Party of Texas, voted overwhelmingly to give Republican primary voters a chance to vote on the resolution.
Kyleen Wright, president of Texans for Life Coalition, told LifeNews.com today that the measure asks Texas Republicans whether or not abortion practitioners should be required to use ultrasound technology when doing abortions and make the ultrasound available to women.
"While most abortion providers profess to routinely using ultrasound in performing abortions, few women ever know that they are paying for the procedure or are given an opportunity to view it," she said.
The resolution to be included on the ballot in the March 2010 Primary reads "Sonograms: The Texas Legislature should enact legislation requiring a sonogram be performed and shown to each mother about to undergo a medically unnecessary, elective abortion."
The resolution is non-binding and doesn’t become law — it is an encouragement for Republican state legislators to pursue such legislation to help women and reduce the number of abortions.
"Women considering abortion must be fully informed before undergoing this procedure, just as they undoubtedly would be before any other medical procedure," Wright said. "It is unconscionable that doctors would be withholding information about relevant medical tests being performed on women, and PAID for by them. This is just one more way women in distress are being abused by the abortion industry."
"Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers want abortion to be a careless, thoughtless and dehumanized procedure," the pro-life Texas leader said.
Wright said she believes Texans and Republicans want women to be given all information — and that they will likely decide not to have an abortion as a result.
Last session, Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) and Representative Frank Corte (R-San Antonio) authored legislation to put the idea into practice, but the bills did not make it out of the legislature to the governor.
Although the state Senate approved Senate Bill 182, to make Texas the seventeenth state to allow women to see a pre-abortion ultrasound, the bill stalled in the House.
Wright said her group hopes the resolution will prompt them to continue their fight.
"The legislation is a major priority for Texans for Life Coalition and other pro-life organizations, and we are excited to see the Republican Party embrace this effort," she said.
Related web sites:
Texans for Life Coalition – https://www.texlife.org
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